Passage of Save Act doubtful, says USTR

MANILA, Philippines – The United States Trade Representative (USTR) office is doubtful that the Save the Industries Act, the bill touted to save the ailing Philippine garments industry, will be passed because the Philippines has labor and intellectual property rights issues, the Board of Investments (BOI) said.

In an interview, BOI director Thelma Murillo said that during their video conference with the USTR last month, the US raised the intellectual property rights and labor issues during the discussions for the Save Act.

“The US would like to address the labor issues (in the Philippines) before continuing,” Murillo said in Filipino.

Murillo said that this is the bigger issue in the bid of the Philippines to pass the Save Act before the US Congress. She said that the industry is willing to remove some of the contentious provisions in the bill to make it more palatable to the US government.

In fact, the Philippine government is set to retrieve the filed Save the Industries Act before the US Congress in order to amend some of the provisions of the proposed law.

This will be done despite the September ultimatum set be Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo. The Philippine government has been lobbying for the passage of the Save Act for at least two years because it is expected to revive the garment industry.

The Save Act was filed before the US Senate last month. However, Murillo said the bill will be retrieved in order to remove some of the provisions. Murillo said it is still unclear to her which provisions will be removed. Industry players met last week to polish the bill.

Murillo said that because of the amendments, the Save Act is expected to be refiled by June, only three months before the September deadline. Murillo said after September, it would be difficult to pass the law because the US politicians will be busy preparing for the elections.

The Philippines has already rehired lobby group Sorrini, Samet and Associates (SSA) after terminating their services last year. “The contract last year was preterminated because nothing happened to the bill. It was not even discussed during the lame duck session.” –Ma. Elisa P. Osorio (The Philippine Star)